


Remnant

by Merciless_Eden



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, Animal Abuse, Author regrets nothing, Blood and Gore, Chapters are Kind of Short until Chapter Four, Devin is a Bean, Devin/Jordan, Dragons, Explicit Language, Hurt/Comfort, Injury and Violence, Kind of a slow burn, Kinda Based of the Hunger Games, M/M, Murder, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Updated Weekly on Tuesdays, Way too Much Detail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:28:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24025864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merciless_Eden/pseuds/Merciless_Eden
Summary: What remains stays with us forever.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character





	1. Black Pearl

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of the Hunger Games, but I put a pretty big spin on it.  
> Updates are once a week.

The streets of London are not paved with gold. They're as lonely and dirty as the pathways in the forest, stained with the blood of those who have been chosen.

No one wants to be chosen. Even the crazy old man on Leeka Lane wouldn't want to be one of them. The lucky old freeloader was too old, though, to be one of the chosen. Devin wasn't, though. Anyone from age fourteen to twenty-two was eligible to be one of the chosen ones.

The Choosing was tomorrow at noon. Devin knew the odds were in his favor. He had no family, so he had no one to worry about but himself. Out of the thousands of other people in London, not being chosen was a walk in the park. He was eighteen, so it sounded easy enough.

Still, Devin felt bad for the chosen. They would start out simply like him, hoping not to be chosen, would get their names drawn from the jar, and then would be hauled off, torn from their families, along with fourty-five other people, and thrown who-knows where. They would be left alone, without contact to the outside world and vice-versa. The winner would return victorious with their team if they all survived, and would be showered with fame and fortune for the rest of their lives.

But, the losers? No one knew what happened to them. Even their families never found out. The sick game that the chosen were forced into was a fight to the death. There were twenty-three teams of two people. Only one team could win. The team that won was usually either the most brutal or the most cunning. If you wanted to survive with your team, then everyone else had to die.

It was late in the afternoon, and Devin was heading home from his day job, trying to find food for himself. It was a cold, damp day, and Devin had no clothes to keep him warm, save torn pants and an old jacket he found behind a baker's shop.

It was raining, making Devin's bare feet smack against the pathways outlining the road he was walking beside. His head was hanging, his blue eyes dreamily staring at the stone pathway as he walked. Suddenly, a warm scent wafted through the air and caught Devin's attention. He looked up and to his right. It was the window of the baker's shop. This place was the only shop that gave the streets any life on a dreary day like this. The light inside gave off a warm, comforting aura, and the smell of the delicious bread inside made Devin's stomach growl.

Devin sighed with sadness, and turned to leave. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten, but he knew good and well that he didn't have the necessary ten copper pieces for a loaf of bread.

So, hungrily, Devin continued down the street with his head hanging and his hands dug deep into the pockets of his jacket. He didn't even care that one of the pockets was missing the seam at the bottom and was useless. He still saw it as a hand-warmer.

Thunder rolled in the distance, where black clouds were stalking over the city of London. This just made Devin even more resentful for how the day was going. He reached into his pocket, the one without the hole, and pulled out the six copper pieces he had found along the street. He hadn't had this much in a while. Perhaps he could find somewhere cheap to eat. Or maybe he should keep digging in garbage cans and save up for shoes. Although, it might take a while. Shoes, at a minimum, were usually twenty copper pieces.

Devin decided that, since winter was coming in just a few days, he should search for food in bins and save up for warmer clothes. He put the pieces back in his pocket and kept walking down the lonely sidewalk.

Another growl of hunger came from Devin's stomach as he passed an alleyway where a restaurant owner was taking out her trash. Devin walked down the alleyway and muttered meekly, "Excuse me? Ma'am?" The woman looked his way and smiled pleasantly.  
"Hello, there. Can I help you?" Her voice was high-pitched and sing-song. It made Devin a bit less self conscious about asking to dig through her garbage.  
"C-Can I look through that? I haven't eaten in a few days and was wondering if you had any food in that bag..."  
"Of course you can. But if you have three copper, I could make you some proper food inside." She offered.

Devin knew no one could offer services for free, even to people like him. They could discount them a little, but it would still put risk on their business. No one here had much money. All the rich men and women lived on the hill in their mansions and manors, playing golf and enjoying warm dinners and proper beds. They didn't give a second glance to Devin's kind, and in turn, Devin's kind didn't give a second glance to them.

"N-No, thanks... I'm saving up to buy shoes for the winter." Devin said as he knelt by the bag of trash.  
"Clever boy, you are. You'll do fine in life with a wit like that. I'll let you in on a little secret. Bartin and Burkins Shoes sell their sandals for fifteen copper pieces and their winter boots for nineteen. They said it'll increase sales to lower their prices, and they sure were right." The woman smiled and headed back inside.  
"I can't thank you enough, ma'am!" Devin called after her. A smile crossed his face. "Maybe I won't get frostbite through the winter." He muttered as he tore the bag open and began to search through it. He kept searching until he found two copper pieces, a still warm steak that was half eaten, and a bottle of water. "Maybe today is my lucky day!" He whispered to himself as he curled up in the corner with his bounty of food.

Devin tucked the two copper pieces in his pocket with the other six. He then made sure the water was alright to drink and managed to clean some of the steak off by pouring a fraction of the water over it. He then bit into the soggy but still edible steak, and savored every bite until it was gone. He kept some of the water for later, and got up. He left the alleyway without another stop, and turned down the road that led him home.

The sky was growing even more dark, and lightning was striking down in the distance. Its bright wrath was enough to make Devin start running from fear of being struck. With his house right up ahead, he would rather run and make it there safely than dawdle and lose all the use he had left for his body because of a lightning strike.

As Devin ran through the overgrown yard of his house, he came upon the door and crawled under it. The old door had been rotted in place for a long time, but Devin had been strong enough to wedge half of it out of place so that he could crawl under it and get into his house. He had boarded up the windows to keep the warmth in with the scraps of wood he had found by another unclaimed, broken down house. Devin didn't even own his house. No one knew where he lived, and for good reason. He couldn't pay the fourty copper pieces a month to keep a house, even one with only three rooms like this. All his house had was a living room with a couch that was missing the cushions where Devin slept, a kitchen that didn't work and was crawling with bugs, and a bathroom. Devin had to do a lot of repairs on the house, so he wasn't completely weak. He had taken a hammer and some nails once from a construction site in the richer part of town, knowing that they could easily buy another. Now he gathered scraps of wood wherever he could find them and stored them in the corner of the living room by the broken lamp.

Devin pushed a small box in front of the hole he had crawled through, then pulled the carpet from the floor and laid down on the cushionless couch. He moved and squirmed until he got as comfortable as he could be, and draped the carpet over him to act as a blanket.

Now that he was lying still and silent, Devin began to think about the chosen. Tomorrow, two people from this town and two from each of the others would be forced away from their families and the life that they knew, and thrown in an arena where it's either kill or be killed.

Devin honestly felt bad for the chosen. It wasn't very likely that they'd see their families again. Still, if they did win, they couldn't be chosen again and would get to live in luxury with the rich men and women in beautiful houses on the highest of hills.

With the dreams of such things, Devin's eyes began to fall closed. He yawned one last time as thunder rolled, and off he went to sleep.


	2. White Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dragons hoard gold because the thing you most need is always to be found where you least want to look."  
> \- Jordan B. Peterson

Devin was woken by a cold drop of water running down his cheek. He wiped it away and opened his eyes. It wasn't raining anymore, but there was a new, small hole in the roof just above Devin.

It seemed that Devin had been tossing and turning in his sleep, as he had gone to sleep on his side, although now he was on his back. His arm was tossed over his chest and the other was twisted behind his back.

With a sigh of both exhaustion and annoyance, Devin tossed the carpet onto the floor, and went to get his supplies. He picked up a box of nails, his hammer, and a board, and got on top of the couch. He stood on his toes and pressed the board to the ceiling, and began fixing it into place.

"The Choosing begins in an hour! Everyone get up!" A voice from the next house over yelled. The sound of tired children complaining as they were woken were muffled through the walls, but Devin heard enough to catch on. His eyes widened in horror as he remember what day it was. It was August 6th, the day of the Choosing.

Devin quickly finished with the board and ran outside. He needed to hurry if he was to get there on time. Everyone else either had a horse or would hire a carriage to take them. He had to go on foot.

Even through the pain of forcing himself to keep running when he was tired, Devin managed to reach town square with six minutes to spare. He sifted through the crowd and got to the middle of the crowd, apologizing to everyone he accidentally shoved as he went past them.

Devin passed the six minutes by listening to other people's conversations and watching a woman with two jars full of paper slips come up onto the stage. She rang a small bell, and everyone quietened down. Everyone looked at her worriedly and expectantly.

"Good morning, citizens of London." The woman began. Her voice was too nice. It made Devin want to vomit. "As you all know by now, today is the Choosing, the day where two of your fine citizens will be sent to compete in a fight to the death far, far away. If they return victorious, they will live in prosperity and luxury for the rest of their lives."  
"Sure they will." A woman near Devin whispered to her friend. "They won't be haunted by the spirits of those they murdered at all."  
"Now," The woman on the stage continued. "Let's get choosing, shall we?" She reached into the jar of paper on her left and pulled out a slip of paper. All those who were murmuring to each other went quiet with fear.

"Dale Fletcher." The woman said, glancing around the crowd. There was a shift in the crowd as someone walked through them. Devin turned to see a boy his age, maybe a year older, walking through the crowd with a face frozen in fear. He slowly walked up the steps of the stage. His expression was like that of a man that was walking onto a platform to be hanged.

"Good, good, Mr. Fletcher. Now, let's find our second little warrior." The woman said, smiling a little too widely. She reached into the other jar and looked at the slip.  
"Lucy Whittlemaker?" Silence. No response from the crowd. "Miss Whittlemaker?" The woman called out, her eyes sweeping across the crowd. Still, nothing. A man came up and whispered something to her. "Oh..." She said. "What a mistake. I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen. This is the jar for the next city." As she spoke, the slip and the jar were taken away and a new one was brought.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's find our candidate from LONDON, shall we?" The woman reached into the jar and pulled out another slip. There was silence as she read the name.  
"Devin White?"

Devin's face drained of all color, and his breathing hitched in his throat.  
No, this couldn't be right. He was one in thousands of people. How did he get chosen?

With an expression of fear on his face, Devin was able to force himself forward and went through the crowd. He continued up the stairs onto the stage and took his place beside Dale.

"Now, what fun we'll have watching you get sent into the games, you two. Heaven knows what'll happen in there. Now, come, come. Let's get you two on the train to France." She took the two by the shoulders and led them off towards the train station while the man that had taken the jar away took care of the closing ceremony.

The woman introduced herself as Bee. At least, that's what she said to call her. She then sat them down in one of the train compartments and explained everything that was happening in her all too happy voice.

According to Bee, they were headed to France, where they would get one day tomorrow to do what they needed to do before the Game and a mandatory meeting would occur an hour before the game. In that meeting, everything would "start to get interesting", in Bee's words. Devin found this interesting, sure, but not in a good way.

As Bee kept talking and ranting about the game, Devin looked over to Dale and put a friendly hand on his shoulder. Dale seemed to snap out of his trance and looked over to Devin, so Devin gave his partner a determined look. Dale sighed quietly and looked at the floor.

Devin had been so caught up in Bee's rantings that he hadn't noticed the train was moving. He sank back in his chair, relaxing in Bee's newfound silence. He just wanted time to process what was going on.

Devin's eyes were beginning to wander around the train compartment. He was seated by the window, so he merely turned a little to look out of it as the city flew by.

With all that was happening, Devin just didn't know how to feel. He felt scared, lost, and alone. Everything was so new to him. He had never been on a train before, let alone been in France. He supposed his fear wouldn't last long, as he doubted he would in the arena.

The world whizzed by, leaves on swaying branches waving Devin goodbye. He felt more and more terrified as he was forced farther away from his home, from the only place he knew.

Devin had heard it was a long ride, so he decided to at least finish off his rest so he would be more level-headed when they got to the base for the Game in France. Although, he was slightly excited to see the Eiffel Tower. He had dreamed to see it all his life, although he had never thought it would be under these circumstances. Such sad, sad circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these first few chapters are so short. I'm trying to get the first three out today, but starting at chapter four, they'll become much longer.


	4. Forgotten Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't fashion me into a maiden that needs saving from a dragon. I am the dragon, and I will eat you whole."  
> \- Anonymous

As the train halted, Devin was awoken from his daze, and he sat up straight again. Bee was smiling at him very unsettlingly and suddenly stood. "This is our stop, boys." She grinned a little wider for a moment, and Devin was sure the skin on her cheeks was about to tear open so she could smile more.

Dale slowly stood, as did Devin, and followed Bee out of the train compartment and down the aisle. Both Devin and Dale kept quiet, not knowing what to say.

They exited the train and came up to a massive building with sliding doors and tons of people in suits. Devin tried to hide as best he could behind Dale. There were other people here. Although, these people were like him and Dale. They were wearing white shirts that were tucked into black pants and formal shoes that clacked against the ground as they walked. They even had small pins on their shirts that had their name imprinted on them. Dale was suddenly handed one of these outfits, then Devin was given one, which startled them both.

"Now, go change. The restroom is right over there." Bee said, pointing to a room with a sign on the door that had two stick figures on it, one wearing a skirt. Under the figures, it read, "Restroom".

Dale, with a wary glance around the room, took Devin by the shoulder and led him to the bathroom. He brought him inside the tiled room and quickly closed the door. He went to the sink and leaned over it.

"We're doomed..." He muttered, hiding his face in his hands. "We're going to die. I didn't even get to say goodbye to my family..."  
"I didn't have a family to say goodbye to." Devin said, going over to pat Dale's shoulder. He pulled his shirt off, then his pants, and began putting on the new clothes. He hadn't worn new clothes in a long time. He pulled the shiny black shoes over his warm black socks and began adjusting the name plate he was given, and pinned it in place on his shirt.

Dale had gone quiet. He was just sitting there in silence. Devin sighed, his mothering instinct clicking. He noticed that Dale had managed to change into his pants before he sat down in that chair and went quiet. His elbows were on the sink, his face hidden away in the palms of his hands.

Devin sighed and kneeled by Dale. He took off his shoes and socks and replaced them with the ones that were given to them by Bee. He then forced Dale's hands off of his face and changed his shirt, then tucked it into his pants. "We'll do our best. Then, if we do die, we'll die giving the people who killed us the worst time of their lives." Devin said, crouching in front of his teammate. Dale looked at the floor, then at Devin. He smiled weakly. Devin had at least managed to lighten the mood a little.

"Now, c'mon. Let's go." Devin said, going back to the door. Dale got up and walked out as he fixed his name plate.

Devin led Dale out and back to Bee, who was standing at a register of sorts. She seemed to be putting the two boys in some sort of system that kept track of all the fighters. Bee turned to the two boys and frowned for the first time. "I'm going to miss the two of you when you die out there." She said sadly, then immediately smiled again. "Follow me. Upstairs, you two. Upstairs. I'll show you to your room."

Devin and Dale looked at each other peculiarly, but followed Bee without question. She took them into an elevator that lifted them up countless floors. When it stopped, the doors opened, and Bee ushered the two boys out.

There was a short hallway leading down to a door just a few feet away. Bee led them inside and sat them down, each on one bed.

"This is your room for the day, boys. You will stay here for the hour until the announcement is made to come to the meeting room. Just take the elevator to floor fifty-eight and go in the open door. Sit beside each other. You're teammates. Decide who'll be the leader of the two of you. Everything you need will be given to you at the meeting, and you will be given the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. Goodbye, you two, and good luck." With that, Bee left. Half of Devin was sad to see her go, as he knew that she might be the last smiling person he saw before he died. The other half thought her absence was peaceful.

"D-Do you want to lead us? I've never been good at making decisions..." Devin asked Dale, who was sitting across from him on the bed.  
"I can if I must. But you'll have to follow my lead if you even want a chance at survival. I know a bit about this. My father takes me hunting a lot. Well... Took me hunting a lot." Dale replied.  
"Alright. What'll be our first course of action, then?" Devin began fiddling with his pants, which were a little large. Or perhaps he was just too skinny.  
"I say we find shelter. We can take care of food on day two. But we need to use all we can of day one to find the best shelter possible. We can decide what we need to do for day three on day two." Dale said, halfway to Devin and halfway to himself.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Devin said nonchalantly, feeling good about his choice of asking Dale to lead them. A sudden thought entered his mind that made his comfort disappear, however. What if something happened to Dale?

Devin gulped and moved over to lean on the headboard of his bed. Dale laid down to relax, and the two were left in silence. Until, at least, Devin spoke again. "Dale... Whatever happens to us... Just know, I think you're a great guy."

Dale smiled at hearing that, and looked over to Devin. "I've seen you out and about at home. Having to live in those conditions, you must be really tough. Don't forget that."

"My point stands." Devin said, smiling back at Dale. They looked away from each other, and silence finally consumed the room.It remained that way for a long time. Then, the ringing tune of an intercom broke the silence. A voice followed after the tune. "Ladies and gentlemen, fighters and warriors, please proceed from your rooms to the meeting area immediately." The voice disappeared, a beep sounded, and then there was nothing once again.

Devin stood just after Dale, and the two went out to the elevator together. Dale pressed floor number fifty-eight, and they went up after the doors closed. They waited only a little more than a minute, and a high-pitched ding sounded. The doors opened, and Devin followed Dale out to an open door where many other people were gathered.

There were two people on the stage. Bee and another man with a twisting mustache. They had a cart on stage with them. It had twenty-three small, black bags on the top row and forty-six notebooks stacked and bound with rope in pairs. Dale and Devin took a seat as the second-to-last team in the rows of seats that was at a slight downward decline.

It didn't take long for the meeting to begin. The man spoke first. "Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Game. Today, every single one of you will change in some way. Some of you will die today. Some of you will die tomorrow. Eventually, all but one or two of you will die. I am here to tell you all you need to know about The Game and how it works. After this meeting concludes, we will be leading you all into one room, where we will... Put you to sleep, per say."

There were a few people muttering in response to that, but they quickly went quiet when the man started talking again. "I am Lupin Masoc, your guidance officer, or GO for short. You may refer to me as GO Masoc, Mr. Masoc, or Officer Masoc. Let me begin this meeting simply. Your goal is to survive. You want to be the survivor out of the other forty-five people here. Your teammate wants to survive, too. Survive together, and you will be richly rewarded." He paused for a moment to glance around at everyone, then continued.

"Each team will be identifiable by their notebook. There is a symbol of an animal on the center of the leather cover. Each team is represented by that animal. A team is assigned to the animal that they are known for acting like. Example, Boar Team. A boar is known for continuing a fight, even with fatal wounds. If the members of a team resemble a boar, which is one of our teams, that is the animal they will be assigned. We've already worked out which team gets which animal. When Bee comes to hand out your journals, tell her each of your names and one of you will take the black bag she will give you. The other will take the notebooks. Make sure that when we take you out of here and into The Game that each of you has a notebook and one of you is holding onto the bag. Do not open it until you are in The Game. Do you all hear me?"

Everyone nodded, not exactly in unison, but it was good enough for Masoc. "Good." Masoc said. "Bee, would you please take it from here?" Bee silently nodded and took the cart off the ramp of the stage. The man went to a group of men who looked like guards on the side of the stage and began conversing with them.

"What team do you think we'll get?" Devin asked Dale.

"I dunno. I'm more interested in what's in those bags."

"Well, what do you think are in them?" Devin leaned around a chair to try and see the bags. Bee was moving quickly through the teams.

"Maybe animals of some sort. I saw one move. But... They're small enough to hold in our hands. Not even a rabbit would fit in one."

Bee was already coming down their row. She asked the team beside them thief names. After they answered, she gave them a pair of the books with a fox on the fronts. There were two foxes on each, facing back to back with their paws in the air. Then, they were giving one of the bags. Something was squirming around inside theirs.

Next, Bee came to Devin. "I'm Devin, and that's Dale." He said nervously. Bee nodded and gave Dale a set of notebooks. She handed Devin the bag. It began moving, as well. Bee moved on to the last team. Devin, knowing he shouldn't open the bag, looked over to see the animals on the notebook covers. They were two rabbits, back to back like the foxes. Rabbits were known for being cautious and good with escape. Hopefully that applied to Devin and Dale, as well.

When the last team was given their notebooks and bag, Bee went up to the man, whispered something to him, and he raised his hand to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, follow me! Let's begin The Game!" He went through a set of double doors into a brightly lit room, and the swarm of other people followed.

Dale handed one of the notebooks to Devin, the one that had his name written in the bottom right corner. It looked like it was engraved in the leather cover and filled in with black paint.

Devin stood after Dale and followed him into the room with the other people. Men and women were laying the others down in chairs that were positioned in pairs and knocking them out with some kind of injection. They were dressed in scrubs and hand face masks on.

One of the strange men grabbed ahold of Dale and Devin, dragging them over to a set of chairs. It was so sudden that Devin helped in surprise and tried to pull away. Dale grabbed him and pulled him back. "It'll be alright." He said. "Calm down."

Dale and Devin were laid down in unison by two doctors, and we're secured to the chairs with rope bindings. Devin's heart began to pound and sweat dripped down his brow. The doctor came over with an injection and forced Devin's head to the side. There was a painful prick in the vein in Devin's neck, and every noise, every sight, and every smell that Devin had just experienced was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now that the first four are out, I'm going to start updating once a week, most likely on Tuesdays. The chapters should start getting longer, as well. Hope to see you in the next one!


End file.
